


Eaten By the Monster of Love

by gothyringwald



Series: harringrove holidays [8]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Growing Up, Halloween, M/M, Misunderstandings, Slice of Life, Talking, Trick or Treat: Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothyringwald/pseuds/gothyringwald
Summary: Steve had asked Billy to come to the party with him, tonight, partly because he’d thought it was Billy’s scene, something they could do together for Halloween that Billy wouldn’t think was dumb. And partly because part of him was still clinging to who he used to be.But, now, all he wants is to find Billy and go home and be alone with him.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: harringrove holidays [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1222670
Comments: 8
Kudos: 157
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	Eaten By the Monster of Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Highsmith (quimtessence)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quimtessence/gifts).



> For Highsmith, hope you like this treat! :D

Steve needs to find Billy.There’s a headache forming behind his eyes, and his stomach turns from the weird pumpkin flavoured punch he’d politely downed, and he’s just plain tired. He pushes his way through the throng of partying teens, cursing under his breath. God, this party. It’s boring and dumb and Steve hasn’t seen Billy in an hour. Shit. Steve isn’t sure if Billy is still even here.

But all Steve wants is to find him and go home and watch movies, or something. It’s weird. Last year the party had been _fun_. Well, it was fun until Nancy tore his heart out, but there’s only a dull throb when he thinks about that, where it had once been searing pain. And, anyway, there’s Billy, now.

It’s new, this thing between them, though it’s not tentative. It’s passionate and consuming and Steve sometimes feels like he’s drowning but in a good way. Still, when he’d asked Billy to Vicki’s Halloween party, it hadn’t been as his date, exactly. That’s not something they can do, not like Steve could with Nancy, but he’d wanted to come with Billy all the same.

He’d thought it would be fun, but the music is grating on his nerves, and the people are boring, and Billy’s _ditched him_.

Steve swipes at a stream of toilet paper hanging from the ceiling, seeking out Billy’s dishwater blond curls, but if he’s anywhere, he’s not inside. It stings. They can be _friends_ in public, even if everything else has to be kept away.

“Hey, Harrington, awesome party, huh?” someone Steve doesn’t recognise says as Steve reaches the door.

“Yeah, totally awesome.” The crisp fall night hits him as he bursts outside, cleansing the swampy feeling the air inside had left on him.

Jack-o-lanterns line the back porch, candles flickering in the breeze. A circle of people has formed in the middle of the yard, everyone cheering someone on for something, but Steve’s gaze is drawn beyond them, to the shadows forming at the periphery of the pool of light.

“Finally,” Steve murmurs, edging around the crowd toward Billy.

Billy’s wearing the same costume as last year and Steve wonders if he just doesn’t give a shit about that kind of thing, or if he’s trying to hold onto something from before. Some kind of normalcy.

Steve tugs at his denim jacket, covered by his orange vest,and clears his throat. “Hey,” he says.

Billy looks up, eyes glittering and inscrutable. “Hey.”

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“I’ve been here.”

They’re not usually like this—sure, Billy can be surly, and they spend more time fooling around than talking, but there’s something off tonight. It sits uneasily and Steve presses his lips together. “You know, if you didn’t want to come with me—”

“There’s a new keg king.”

Steve blinks. “What?”

Billy juts his chin toward where everyone is now roaring “Jimmy” over and over, just as they’d chanted Billy’s name last year, and Steve’s the years before that.

“Uh, OK.” Irritation squirms in Steve’s gut. He folds his arms over his stomach and says, “Well, if you wanna go reclaim your title, feel free, but I don’t care about that shit anymore.” He’s not sure why he’s pissed off, but he can’t believe Billy abandoned him for _this_.

But then Billy says, “Me either,” so simple and open, and anything else Steve might have wanted to say retreats into his throat.

“Oh.” Steve glances at the crowd, back to Billy. “Then why are you out here?”

Billy shifts, his jacket falling open, drawing Steve’s eyes to his chest. Moonlight catches on the scars—angry red turning pink—and something twists behind Steve’s ribs. It’s still strange to see Billy’s skin marred like this, but the way Billy wears them proudly, doesn’t _hide_ them is pretty damn cool. It makes warmth unfurl in Steve.

“I used to live for parties.” Billy takes a drag of his cigarette, tilting his head back. He doesn’t say anything else.

“Yeah,” Steve says, because he did, too, but he’s not sure where Billy is going with this.

Billy licks his lips and looks at Steve along the length of his nose. “But this”—he jerks his thumb back toward the house—“was fucking boring.”

“Thanks.”

Billy’s lip quirks, a crack, finally, and he shakes his head. “I didn’t mean—” He lets out a long breath, and ducks his head, giving Steve a searching look from under the long sweep of his lashes. “Weren’t you bored?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, and, oh.

Maybe Billy feels it, too. That this isn’t for him, isn’t where he belongs, now. Steve had asked Billy to come with him, tonight, partly because he’d thought it was Billy’s scene, and it was something they could do together for Halloween that Billy wouldn’t think was dumb. And he’d wanted that, so bad, to spend Halloween with Billy.

But there was part of him, too, foolishly clinging to “King Steve”. Something in him screaming _just one more night, one more time_. Even after everything, he’d thought he’d wanted it. It couldn’t be clearer that he was wrong, now.

“Then why are we here?” Billy asks.

“I thought…” Steve shakes his head. “I don’t know.” He looks at Billy a moment, then leans in as much as he dares, though everyone is too drunk to notice them, and says, “Wanna get out of here?” He lets the back of his hand press against Billy’s, their fingers brushing.

Billy grins. “Thought you’d never ask.”

They leave around the side of the house, slipping onto the empty street. It’s too late for any straggling trick-or-treaters, too late for anyone in this sleepy town. So, they have the walk between Vicki’s house and Steve’s to themselves.

And Billy is like a whole different person, now. He’s the Billy Steve has gotten to know so well over the past month since he walked into Family Video and flirted with Steve like it was nothing.

Then again, Steve had flirted right back. And then kept on flirting until it turned to something more. Something bigger and almost scary. Not Halloween scary, and not Upside Down scary, but a deep down in his bones this is a big deal scary. A good kind of scary.

Steve feels different, out here, too. More like himself. The party had sat uncomfortably, like a pair of jeans he’d long outgrown. But, alone with Billy, he can breathe easy.

“Man, that party was the fucking worst.” Billy turns, walking backwards so he can look at Steve. “I mean, the parties here have always sucked. Can’t expect better from a shitty town like this.”

Steve ignores the jibe, barely even bristling at the insult, now.

“But,” Billy continues, “this was different.” He stops—talking, walking, moving—his brows knitting together. He looks at Steve like he’s expecting him to say something, but Steve isn’t sure what he’s meant to say.

He doesn’t get a chance, anyway, before Billy says, “Man, I’m sick of this town.”

It’s not the first time he’s said it, but it’s the first time Steve wonders if maybe Billy might feel like the remnants of his old self don’t fit right, anymore. If that’s what drew them together. So, he says, “Yeah, me too.”

Billy blinks at Steve, and it’s one of the rare times Steve has been able to throw him off balance.

“I’m not sick of everything, though,” Steve adds. He doesn’t even look around, check if they’re still alone, before he moves over and kisses Billy.

Billy hums into Steve’s mouth, kissing back, then pulls away slowly. “Yeah, I guess it’s not all shitty here,” he says and kisses Steve again.

When he pulls away this time, he’s grinning—untamed and beautiful—and he throws his head back and _howls_. It echoes in the empty street, ferocious and free; Steve has to admit, it’s kind of hot.

“What are you doing?”

“Full moon.” Billy points up.

“The full moon was a couple of nights ago.”

“Why do you know that?”

Steve shrugs. “Dustin.”

Billy snorts and shakes his head. “It’s close enough, anyway.” A wicked gleam comes into his eyes. “C’mon, Harrington, howl with me.”

“What? No!”

“It’s Halloween. It’s an almost full moon. Nearly the witching hour.” He steps in closer, lowers his voice. “It’s the perfect night for it.”

“I’d feel stupid—”

Billy howls again, beating his chest this time. It’s ridiculous, and it’s crazy, but it hits something deep in Steve he hadn’t known was there. Billy spreads his arms to either side. “Come on, Harrington, live a little.”

Steve shakes his head, knowing he’s going to give in. “Fine.” He lets out a half-hearted howl, warmth creeping into his cheeks.

“That was pathetic.” Billy reaches for Steve’s hips, pulling him close, and resting a hand below Steve’s sternum. “From here.”

“Do it with me?”

Billy nods.

Steve sucks in a deep breath, cold air filling his lungs. Trusting that Billy will join him, he squeezes his eyes shut and throws his head back, letting out a sound he had no idea could come from him. It releases the last of the tension he’d been holding since he stepped foot in Vicki’s house, and something deeper than that, too. His howl joins with Billy, the sound drifting up into the night, echoing in the street.

Billy spins them around, his howl breaking off into a laugh, and then he kisses Steve. Long and hard and deep, holding him tight.

Each and every one of Billy’s kisses thrill through Steve like nothing else; they light him up from head to toe. He’s not sure if it’s ever been like this before, or if it’s just that it’s new, but he doesn’t care.

“Hey, uh,” Steve says, feeling a little wild and breathless, “maybe we should go back to my house, now?”

“Damn, can’t even keep your hands off me for a couple of minutes.” Billy winks. “Not that I blame you.”

“No, I meant… Well, yeah.” Steve smiles, lip caught between his teeth. His heart beats fast, the way it always does when he thinks about getting his hands on Billy. But it’s more than that, and he wants Billy to know. “I just… Fuck, all night, all I’ve wanted is to watch dumb movies with you and eat candy and make out.”

“You’re not going sappy on me, are you, Harrington?”

Steve shrugs. “Can’t help myself, I guess.”

Billy screws his nose up, but there’s a smile beneath it, even as he says, “You’re a dork.” He walks off, but as he moves he takes Steve’s hand, tugging, and Steve happily follows.

“You wanna eat candy,” Billy says. “What are you, twelve?”

“Shut up.”

“You’d better have Peanut Butter Cups.”

“Duh.”

“And booze.”

“Plenty of booze.”

“Good.”

“There’s leftover pumpkin pie, too.”

“The one your mom made?”

“Yep.”

“Excellent.” Billy makes a happy humming sound and it makes Steve’s heart beat.

They walk the rest of the way to Steve’s house with their shoulders bumping, fingers not quite tangled together, the moon shining down on them. When they get back, they eat the candy and the pie, and they make out with horror movies that Steve hates and Billy loves playing in the back ground.

It’s not what he used to do but it’s what he wants, now. And it’s the best damn Halloween Steve’s had in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry I didn’t use more of the characters you requested, Highsmith, but this is where my brain went and I hope this is a nice Halloween treat for you :D
> 
> And thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr, if you like! I've got [a little text post for the fic over there](https://gothyringwald.tumblr.com/post/634176031593545728/eaten-by-the-monster-of-love) :) Also, I feel like this fic is kind of the spiritual prequel to [attack of the feelings!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27141382)


End file.
